Smart Ways To Engage Different Generations of Donors

Younger donors are more likely to use mobile and social media to give, while seniors still give mostly through direct mail.

As people rapidly adopt new technologies, nonprofits must build multichannel strategies to engage different generations of donors in the ways they prefer.

We provide different tactics for catering to the interests of each generation of supporter below.

Generation Z (born 1996-present)

Researchers are eager to learn more about the motivations of the youngest generation of adults, known as Generation Z, as they become more philanthropic. Philanthroteens, or teenagers who are motivated to support nonprofits, are driving social impact.

Generation Z has experienced economic instability, polarizing social issues, and global challenges to a greater extent than Millennials, who mostly grew up in a positive and stable economic environment.

This generation is driven to making the world a better place because of the hyper-awareness of the world around them that is brought on by technology and social media.

For example, take a look at some of their charitable giving habits:

• 32 percent of Gen Z donate their own money
• 26 percentof 16 to 19-year-olds practice volunteering on a regular basis
• 10 percent want to start their own nonprofit organization

The onus is on you to communicate with them in a manner that speaks to their drive for change.

Make Your Marketing Personal

Since they have grown up in a time when technology is everywhere, Gen Z will be able to tell when marketing from your nonprofit is not genuine.

This means that they are aware that you have information that is important to them as individuals and they expect you to use this information to target them specifically. If you want to connect with Gen Z, you can’t just meet them where they are—you need to go above and beyond with targeted content that you know they’ll love.

For instance, approximately 60 percent of people from Generation Z desire for their workplace to make a positive impact on the world.

Consider finding corporate partners that are popular with young people to make your nonprofit’s brand more visible.

Donations from new, young employees can be driven to your nonprofit if the company is appealing to that age group.

Use Social Media Wisely

Hootsuite says that if you want to reach Gen Z with your social media campaign, you need to be strategic about when, where, and how you use social media platforms.

A way to get past a low number of social media followers is to increase your advertising budget on social media platforms. Hootsuite says that people from Generation Z are used to seeing digital ads and are therefore okay with them.

26 percent of Gen Z finds there to be too many ads on Facebook, in contrast to only 11 percent who feel this way about ads on Instagram and Snapchat. The numbers show that there is potential to increase advertising on those platforms.

Reach Gen Z by connecting with social media influencers that they trust. If your nonprofit is able to get popular internet stars and social media influencers to support your cause, you could see an increase in support from Gen Z.

Hootsuite tells us that Gen Zers are more likely to be influenced by social media personalities than by traditional celebrities.

Giving Stats:

• 59% were motivated to give from something they saw on social media
• 30% have donated to charity
• 26% volunteer

Two words: social media. Since Gen Z grew up in the world of social media, traditional media is less effective. Generation Z doesn’t remember a time when they weren’t connected to the internet. A whopping 98% of respondents have a smartphone and engage in social media for an average of 15 hours per week.

Since Gen Z is so familiar with social media, they have started to avoid ads. If you want to engage with Gen Z, Ad Age advises using video content.

In order to appeal to this generation, incorporate a short, easy to consume video. Make sure it includes an emotionally compelling call to action so that they can clearly relate to the power of their impact.

A social media influencer engagement program could be a good way to reach this demographic. These influencers have a lot of influence in deciding which brands Gen Zers trust.

Make a list of people who have influence on your best performing social media platforms and ask them to promote your content. You can engage with their content by sharing relevant topics and tagging them.

Organizations can increase brand awareness and build credibility by sharing information about their impact with key stakeholders.

Millennials (born 1981-1995)

Organizations need a strategy to engage Millennials if they want to be successful. This is true regardless of the size or mission of the organization. Pew research has found that the Millennial generation will be the largest generation in the US by 2015. This is due to the fact that there are more Millennial’s than Baby Boomers.

While these young supporters may not have as large of a giving capacity as older generations, in 2018 they were the most active demographic donating to charity:

• 40% of Millennial donors are enrolled in a monthly giving program
• 46% donate to crowdfunding campaigns
• 11% of total US giving comes from Millennials
• 84% of Millennials give to charity, donating an annual average of $481 across 3.3 organizations

As this demographic of millennials continue to grow, nonprofits are realising how critical it is to start involving them in their mission today.

Make Sure Your Communications are Mobile-Optimized

It’s not surprising that Millennials want to engage with nonprofits online.

If you want to increase online giving from Millennials, you need to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. 25% of potential donors use their phones to find new nonprofits, and 25% also use their phones to make donations.

You can keep Millennials engaged by using responsive design. This technique allows emails, websites, and donation pages to maintain proper formatting when viewed on mobile devices.

Harness the Power of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Because they are always connected to their peers, millennials are more likely to respond to peer-to-peer fundraising. Your peer-to-peer campaign has the potential to activate a vast majority of young fundraisers, who can then use their own networks to raise money.

A majority of respondents said they would rather raise money for walk/run/cycling events or ask people to donate to a specific nonprofit in lieu of receiving physical birthday gifts.

According to the last statistic, Millennials want their fundraising and giving experience to be personalized, which is possible through a year-round peer-to-peer fundraising program.

Your website could include a permanent fundraising option that would allow supporters to use special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, or athletic milestones to raise money for your cause.

Generation X (born 1965-1980)

Approximately 20% of the US population are Generation X, and nearly half of them are signed up to a monthly giving program.

Compared to Millennials, more established Gen X donors are more likely to make a monetary gift to support a cause. They also give more frequently than other age groups.

This generation is very philanthropic and they like to connect with nonprofits through social media and mobile devices. Almost 60% of Gen Xers are more likely to donate to charity after seeing a message or image related to the charity on social media.

Your nonprofit should work on developing relationships with potential donors, gaining their trust, and giving them chances to support your organization.

Build Trust through Transparency

To win the support of younger generations, your organization should focus on being transparent. Fifty percent of Gen Xers and 60 percent of Millennials say that they are much more likely to donate to a cause if they can see the impact of their donation.

Be clear about where donations made through your website will go. Make sure your fundraising campaign tells potential donors exactly how their money will be used, and show them results through visual content like photos and videos of your work being carried out on the ground.

If you want to earn the trust of potential donors and convince them to give to your cause, start by giving them the information they need.

Engage Donors In the Workplace

Younger donors also tend to partake in workplace philanthropy.

Donors from Generation X and the Millennial generation are both much more likely to participate in fundraisers that are sponsored by corporations, such as walks, runs, or cycling events. You can get help from corporate sponsors by working with them.

Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old)

23.6% of the U.S. population are African American. They make up the majority of donations.

Many people in this generation donate to charity regularly and participate in monthly giving programs. Surprisingly, they are also migrating online in increasing numbers.

The Baby Boomer generation has seen a lot of technological advancements during their lifetimes. Although traditional media is still their largest consumption, don’t rule them out as users of social and digital channels as well.

Giving Stats:

• 72% give to charity
• 15% gave on GivingTuesday
• 35% give to crowdfunding campaigns

This generation has been increasingly present online in recent years, even though they still appreciate traditional media like direct mail. A study conducted by Google showed that in 2013, the majority of people in this generation were online.

An effective way to engage Baby Boomers and gain their support toward your organization is to prioritize “traditional” media in your mix, just like Millennials.

If you want to use social media to reach this demographic, Facebook should be your top priority as it is the most used platform.

This generation is also big on monthly giving programs. If your donors reach out to you and express interest in your recurring giving program, take the time to explain the details of how it works. People are more likely to support causes they are passionate about if it is easy and automatic to do so.

One of the best ways to maintain a good relationship with your donors is to take into account the ways that they prefer to communicate and to use those channels to keep them updated on your progress. It is important to keep track of who your supporters are so that you can maintain healthy relationships with them.

Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old)

There are approximately 20% of American Gen Xers in the U.S. population. The millennial generation is sometimes referred to as the “middle child” of the generations.

Gen Xers are a product of their times – high divorce rates, a struggling economy, and women joining the workforce in droves.

The events of this generation have led them to believe that being self-sufficient and individual is most important. They are also familiar and comfortable with the current technology and devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

Giving Stats:

• 49% are enrolled in monthly giving programs
• 31% gave because of emails
• 64% volunteer locally

This group can provide you with volunteers for your organization’s events. They enjoy giving their time, energy and money to an organization.

What this organizations means is that if you were to put a value on someone’s time, the average person who volunteers their time is worth $24.14 per hour. You can help your organization save money by finding volunteers from this generation.

The demographic that is most responsive to email fundraising also responds well to emails that explain an organization’s mission and offer the option of monthly giving.

The majority of people will start the giving process because of emails that provide a lot of value. You can reach them through social media, but they have become tech-savvy.

It is important to be honest about your intentions and what their money will be used for in order to gain the trust of potential donors.

Conclusion

Different generations tend to care about different things, based on economic, political, and social factors. Find out what generation your target audience is mostly made up of and adjust your fundraising requests to fit them.

Although direct mail is a reliable way to communicate with these donors, you should also develop a more comprehensive strategy that includes other channels (e.g., email, social media, etc.).

Websites are important for keeping your organization relevant to older donors. Having more content and ways to interact online will ensure that your organization is always on their mind.

A multichannel communication strategy helps you reach and engage supporters of all ages. Increasing the online presence is essential to connecting with different age groups.

If you want to deepen relationships with your supporters, especially younger ones, you should spend time and effort optimizing your digital communications and tactics.